


New and Improved

by painfulprose



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bad Memes and Dabbing, Canon Semi-Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Family Bonding, Family Drama, Family Fluff, Family Issues, Gen, Horror, In Character, Insanity, LIght blood and injury, References to other episodes, Swearing, Tags May Change, because teens swear a lot, dark themes, headcanons, nothing too gory or graphic, possible spoilers for anyone not caught up with all the episodes, science gone wrong, set sometime after "Mind Meld", slight body horror
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-11-14 20:23:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18059447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/painfulprose/pseuds/painfulprose
Summary: After a secretive experiment of Donnie's, unsurprisingly, goes wrong, his brothers have to figure out how to help him. And fast.





	1. Mistakes Happen

Early morning. A time of peace, rest, and relaxation before the beginning of a long and active day. Usually, it would _also_ be a time for getting some extra Z's in before everyone else was up and moving around. 

No one jumping all over you just because you slept a little longer than usual sure can be nice from time to time. Raph wasn't typically an early riser by nature, anyway. 

However, today would be a bit different than the norm. He'd known that from the second he opened his eyes at exactly five and was unable to close them again. 

Sure, he'd tossed and turned and tried to force himself to drift off again. If he didn't necessarily HAVE to get up from his cozy sheets, then he most certainly would NOT. As much as he loved his family, they could survive without him for at least an hour or two. 

But, of course, those extra winks just refused to come. Try as he may, something in him was just telling him to get up already and go to the kitchen. His stomach was growling something fierce. 

Not unusual, but also not really appreciated at this hour. 

That's alright, though. He could work with that. One quick sandwich or three and then back to bed it was for him. That was reasonable, right? 

And so, groggy and just barely conscious enough to be constituted as "awake", Raph got himself up from off of his bed and stumbled out of his room. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes didn't do much in his favor, but it was worth a try. 

All went well on his little sojourn for the sake of his food escapade. Dad most definitely was not up at a time like this, and if Donnie was up working on one of his projects, Raph couldn't hear it. Mikey was probably still conked out, which then left- 

_Leo._

He should've known. Though his vision was still kinda blurry, it wasn't all that hard to make out the image of his younger brother standing by the sink still in his PJs. For a moment, Raph had been hoping to be lucky enough to be able to _just_ narrowly dodge his brother and wait for him to leave and go elsewhere so he could get back to his sandwich business. 

Unfortunately, luck just wasn't on his side today. The second he took a step into the kitchen was the second Leo turned back around after getting himself a cup of water. 

The very same cup of water that almost ended up on the floor after Leo processed that he wasn't alone anymore. 

" _WOAH-!_ " 

"Sh!" Raph was quick to scold, hitching a thumb over his shoulder. "What, you wanna wake the entire lair?"

Leo swiftly regained his bearings, shooting his older brother a glare. "Yeah, uh, _good morning_ to you, too?" 

Raph only gave a grunt in reply, sighing as he resigned himself to his fate. It's not that he didn't wanna talk to anyone or anything like that; he wasn't mad. It was just one of those days, y'know? 

Walking over to and opening the fridge, he absently scratched the back of his head and let out a wide yawn. 

"What, no morning hug and kiss after scaring me outta my shell?" 

"The heck are you doin' up so early, anyway?" 

"As if you had to ask that, _Raphael._ " 

Raph rolled his eyes, being all too aware of Leo's mild insomnia that tended to act up here and there. As if he and Donnie couldn't be more similar. 

"Sorry. Dumb question. M'not really thinkin' straight right now."

"Why're _you_ awake?" Leo countered, quirking a brow. "Bad dreams? A mutant silverfish crawl into your bed?" 

"Ha ha." 

"I was serious about that last one. Those buggers do NOT have any respect for personal space."

Raph gave a lazy shrug, careful to close the fridge quietly after he got what he needed. 

"Nah, none of the above. Guess I just didn't eat enough last night or somethin'." 

If Leo made another comment after that, he didn't hear it. Again, it was just _one of those days_ , and what he really wanted to do was get back to sleep. His brother wasn't exactly top priority for the moment. 

Thankfully, Leo seemed to be picking up on that. He hadn't left the kitchen, but rather he made himself a seat on the counter and got himself situated. One of the other perks of early mornings tended to be the absolute silence that followed them. 

It was a sort of unspoken rule that if at least one of them was still asleep, loud and rambunctious chit-chat was put on hold. Raph was glad to see that even Leo had it in him to respect that. His usual onslaught of quips and one-liners were endearing at best, and just downright cringey at worst. 

Much to his delight, Raph was able to successfully make his before-breakfast snacks with next to no further hassle. He didn't hesitate to happily scarf the first sandwich down, relieved to be getting something in his angry stomach. 

Before he could bite into the second, though, Leo took it upon himself to break the quiet. 

"Hmm. Hey, Raph?" 

"Huh?" 

"You think if we were snakes and not turtles that we'd have legs and super long tails? Or like, just tails and no legs?" 

Raph had been fully prepared to just answer whatever Leo had in store for him around a mouthful, but the absolute whiplash he got from something so jarring had him pausing completely in his meal. 

In fact, it was so ridiculous that he made it a point to slowly turn and glare at his sibling in disappointed scorn. 

"Leo," he began. 

"Yeah, my brother?" 

"I can't believe you just said that to me right now. We'd _obviously_ have tails. The heck are you thinking?" 

"What?" Leo asked, a sly smile on his face. " _Nooo._ We'd have super long tails so we could, like, trip up the bad guys, and make 'em go "oh no, I'm falling because that green log was actually a tail. Ohhh nooooo"." 

Raph let his expression do the talking for him. 

"You really wanna give up your legs?!" 

"No!" he snapped back, a bit too loudly. He lowered his volume before adding, "I'm just sayin' what makes sense! I never said I _wanted_ to lose my-" 

He paused and put a hand to his forehead. "Okay. Enough with the weird hypotheticals. I'm too tired for this. You sound like you just got all hopped up on somethin' _funky._ And NOT the good kind." 

"Psh," Leo shrugged. "I'm just trying to make smalltalk. Sue me."

Raph shook his head and reached back to nab his second sandwich. "Eh, would if I could. I'd have to leave all the technical stuff to Don, though. The justice system is too confusing." 

"Oh, Donnie would give you the wrong info on purpose. You know that."

"What, and you _wouldn't_ if the roles were switched? Don't try an' play the innocent card with me, Leo!" 

" _He's_ the evil twin! I'm the good twin that everybody loves!" 

Raph had to scoff at that, finally taking a hearty bite out of his remaining snack. "Uh huh, yeah, alright." 

Of course, Leo didn't let it go at that. He had to go and get the guy all wound up. Nice job, Raph.

" _I'm_ the good twin!" Leo repeated, sounding a little more hysterical than before. "Don't you dare compare me to Don in any way, shape, or form when it comes to his- UGH!" 

"What?" he couldn't stop himself from retorting, hurriedly swallowing. "His sneaky ways of trickin' us into unfavorable situations and then bein' too cocky to admit he was wrong after his "brilliant plan" ends up fallin' apart spectacularly?" 

" _YES!_ " Leo whisper-screamed. "EXACTLY that!" 

"I was describin' _you_ , Leo." 

"And Donnie, also!" 

"That does not sound like-" 

"Albearto?" Leo reminded with a downward tilt of his head. That shut Raph up quicksmart.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. I'm the good twin and everyone should praise me for it." 

"Well," Raph at least _tried_ to butt in after a second to think about it, "Don wasn't the one to trap us in a literal death maze just to get a slice of pizza and his picture on a lousy wall-" 

" _Hey! It was a GREAT wall, and I SO would have been put on it if not for you three panicking over nothing._ " 

Raph nearly choked on his last bits of food, whirling back around and sputtering at once in indignation. 

"That maze would'a CRUSHED us!" he hissed out, taking a fast glance around to make sure their escalated conversation hadn't alerted anyone. "We would've been _killed_ if it wasn't for your portal, and you know that!"

"Yeah! Well!" Leo scanned the ground as if it would magically give him a witty comeback. Ultimately unable to argue against the airtight logic, he ended up shrugging and staring petulantly into his cup. 

"Just- be happy the portal even _worked._ I still think you guys owe me a thank you for that smooth rescue, by the by." 

"In your dreams." 

"Oh, no!" Leo replied dramatically, draping an arm over his forehead in a classic damsel-in-distress pose. "The one thing I can't have!" 

Yeah, okay, maybe that had been a poor choice of wording on his part. He still wasn't backing down from it, though. An exasperated snort signaled that.

He would've continued to defend himself if the argument had progressed any further. Leo was keeping his trap shut, though, and Raph wasn't exactly looking to pry it back open again.

All was, hopefully, good for a few blissful moments. No words, no noises, and no real bad blood. He knew that if Leo had heard one of their sibling's doors opening that he'd've made a remark about it, so he figured they were still in the clear. 

That is, until he reached back for his last delectable sandwich. 

_**BOOM!** _

A wholly unexpected explosion echoed throughout the lair, making the both of them stop and freeze. 

They waited for another one to sound off before giving each other a slack jawed glance. If everyone had been asleep before, they were **definitely** awake, now. 

So much for going back to bed.

"Did that," Leo paused to think. "Did that come from Donnie's room, or the family room?" 

"I'unno," Raph answered honestly. A sinking suspicion in his gut told him that that wasn't necessarily correct of him to say. 

"You think something exploded in dad's room?" his brother questioned, setting his cup down onto the counter with wide eyes. Raph didn't know how to answer that, either. 

But he shook his head and went with his first instinct. "Nah. Couldn't have been from Splinter's. That sounded too close." 

"You think I should grab my ōdachi? You grab your tonfās?" 

Now THAT sounded like a good idea. He wasn't able to get that out of his mouth before a frantic call interrupted him, though. 

" _Guys! GUYS?! GUYS, EMERGENCY! COME QUICK!_ " 

"Mikey!" they both said together, forgetting to be quiet at this point. Half of New York probably heard that racket.

"That was definitely Donnie's room," Leo affirmed, hopping off of the counter and rushing out of the kitchen. Raph was right on his heels; meal the last thing on his mind.

"When is it never?" he couldn't help but to grunt under his breath. It helped to relieve some of the tension building in his chest, but not by a lot. 

The race to their brother's lab was a short one. Neither of them knew what to expect when it came to Donnie and one of his wackjob "experiments", so suffice it to say that the blast alone had put them on edge enough. The fact that Mikey had likely been in the same room with Don _and_ said detonation, and was actively freaking out like someone lost a limb? 

Well, Raph wasn't having any of that. Although he was the last one to get to the lab behind Leo, he pushed his younger brother to the side when Leo abruptly stopped in his tracks. 

"Mikey! Don! What the HECK ha-" 

The words died out before he could even properly form them. 

He knew- Raph _KNEW_ that he was the leader of the group. He was the oldest, so he HAD to know how to act in stressful situations, right? He always knew what to say. No scenario was too out of the blue for him. 

"-ppened..?" 

At least, that's what he wanted to believe. He was painfully aware that it wasn't true, but just how are you supposed to react or feel when you walk into a scene right out of a horror movie? 

The normally pretty well illuminated lab looked like it was experiencing a power shortage. The overhead lights were flicking on and off at random, casting eerie shadows in the corners of his eyes. The sight by itself was enough to make his skin crawl, but if that wasn't bad enough, it got worse. 

There were no immediate signs of either of their brothers, even as they walked further inside. Raph almost had to squint just to make out anything. It was like being in a rave, if raves made you wanna throw up from building anxiety. 

This wasn't normal. None of this was normal. 

"Mikey?" Leo called out from somewhere behind him, making Raph nearly jump out of his shell. "Yo, bros! Where are you?!" 

No response. He wasn't shaking- YOU'RE shaking. 

"Geeze, this place is _trashed._ " Leo came up on Raph's right, reaching down to pick up something that looked like a book in the dark. The lab was practically littered with them, but then again, that wasn't a strange occurrence by itself. Not necessarily.

What _was_ a strange occurrence was the fact that he could have sworn there was some kind of- _goo_ or liquid dripping from said book as Leo held it up. He had to do a double-take just to make sure that was the case, and even then, Raph couldn't be too sure. 

He swallowed roughly. "Y-You'd think Don would care more about keepin' neat and tidy than the rest of us..." 

"Ehh, you know that's debatable depending on the situation," Leo stated with a shrug. "And you know Donnie. Once he's invested in something, literally nothing else matters for a solid forty-eight hours, if not longer." 

Leo held the book only by his fingertips, tilting his head to the side in an attempt to examine the viscous fluid that looked to have been smeared across the side of it. Now Raph was _certain_ that he hadn't just been seeing things.

"What **is** this stuff..?" 

"Whatever it is, it can't be good news. Put that thing down, Leo! It's givin' me the creeps!"

Leo couldn't argue with that logic; tossing the book away from his person. It landed on something that crunched, making both of them flinch. 

"..." 

Raph looked at Leo and Leo looked at Raph. 

"You totally just broke something." 

"I did not break anything; you have no proof." 

"Donnie's gonna kill 'ya."

"The lab's broken enough as is! I mean, look at that!" Leo insisted, pointing at something blue and flickering just around the corner. "Even his _computer's_ glitching out!" 

"Yeah, and are we not gonna mention the fact that _Mikey was screamin' for us not five minutes ago and now we're hearin' SQUAT from either of them???_ " 

"Hey, no," Leo was too quick to reassure. "Look, I'm freaked, too. Just trying to keep the mood light so we can think straight, alright?" 

Raph was **really** wishing they had their weapons right about now. "A-Alright.. yeah.. Good plan." 

"Thanks, big guy. Now, why don't you check over this way? I'll check back by where the book landed. The lab isn't _that big_ , and they have to be around here somewhere." 

"I," he stammered for a second, "I don't know how much I like the idea of us splittin' up right now, Leo.." 

Raph had only taken his eyes off of his brother for less than a second. He was more than a little disconcerted with the fact that, yeah, the lab was pretty much a dump. He knew that Donnie had been sorta holing himself up as of late, so the clutter actually made him a feel a tiny bit better about this all. It was familiar.

The fact that it was _books_ and _paper_ , however, was rubbing him the wrong way. The pens he noticed here and there were excusable, but since when does Donnie use anything that's not electronic? And- 

Eugh. He took a careful step back, noticing something gleam by his foot. If it was the same substance they'd seen earlier, he did _not_ want it on his person. 

"Leo?" he spoke up, it dawning on him that he hadn't gotten some kind of reply back. "Leo??" 

"You got this, dude!" Leo's voice echoed in reply, MUCH further away than he'd been anticipating. 

Great. That's- no, that's fine. Excellent, even. 

He was strong. He could handle this. It would be fine. 

Taking a deep breath, Raph steeled himself before trudging forward into the lab. Uneasily rounding the corner, he made sure to watch his step. Getting glass lodged in his feet probably wouldn't be helpful to anyone right about now. 

The lab seemed to get creepier the more he investigated it. Every time he turned his head, he felt like he'd get jumpscared by some kind of horrific murderous machine. Or, even worse, he'd come across one or both of his brothers. Hurt, unconscious, or _worse-_

Raph shook his head. No. Nope. Quit being scared. You can handle this. 

"Mikey..?" He'd meant for that to be more of a yell, but his voice came out as a shaky whisper more than anything. 

God, he didn't know what to think. Stumbling across Donnie's computer, he blinked and narrowed his eyes to clear his vision from the stark contrast of light in the nearly pitch black room. Just as Leo had said, the screen was jacked.

It wasn't broken or anything. At least, not physically, he was pretty sure. The thing looked intact, but the words that were flashing in frantic red text were more than a little difficult to make out. The words broke off at seemingly random places, and sometimes they just outright vanished before returning again. Kinda like how the lights were acting. 

Despite his growing concerns, Raph spent a good minute trying to decipher it. At most, what he could make out said "Backing powder suit", but that obviously made absolutely no sense. 

After another good minute, he felt ridiculously stupid when he realized it said "Backup power supply". What the heck is wrong with his brain, today??

"Don??" Typing away on the keyboard didn't do anything whatsoever. Not like he figured it would, but a guy had to try, alright? It was a lost cause and he knew it. "Mikey?" 

At this point, Raph was thinking that the explosion had been less so a Donnie-related occurrence, and moreso an evil mutant occurrence. The more he thought about it, the more and more the puzzle pieces fit together. It was early in the morning, so no one would have seen something like this coming. Donnie's lab had a _bunch_ of stuff to be sabotaged, if you knew what you were doing. At least, he had to assume so. He wasn't the tech guy for a reason.

And that wasn't even taking the elephant in the room into account: Donnie and Mikey weren't anywhere to be seen. This could be a classic kidnapping, for all they know, and they'd just walked right into a trap.

But, then again, that would _also_ mean that their lair had somehow been discovered. That'd put their entire way of living in jeopardy, so, naturally, he REALLY really hoped that crazy evil mutant kidnap was not the case. For all of their sake.

Stepping away from the computer, Raph tried to clear his head and continue his search for his missing siblings. He hadn't heard anything from Leo yet, which means- 

Which... means... 

Oh. 

Oh no. 

" _Leo?!_ " Raph all but screamed, his fear getting the best of him before he could really stop himself. If this all WAS some kind of elaborate trap, and Donnie and Mikey WERE kidnapped, then- 

" _Leo, your blue butt better answer me in the next five seconds or SO HELP ME!_ " 

Nothing. Again, there was nothing. Oh, he **knew** splitting up was a terrible idea! He KNEW they should've just- 

"Hey!" He was torn out of his swirling thoughts by what could only be Leo's voice. Thank goodness. "Hey, come over here! I found 'em!" 

_OH, thank goodness._ Any longer and Raph was certain that he'd have a panic attack. 

NOT out of fear or anything like that, though. Because he wasn't scared. Just, uh... Nervous. No one could fault him for that, given the circumstances. 

Cautiously stepping over what he was pretty certain was another piece of glass, Raph wasted no time in rushing back over the way he'd came. When he stopped to think about it, a part of him was surprised that pops hadn't come down to see just what in the heck they were doing down here. He wouldn't have looked twice if he saw the silhouette of Splinter in the doorway as he passed it. 

Of course, that didn't happen. Rather than hearing the scuffling of little rat feet along the lab floors, the closer Raph got to where he'd heard Leo last, the more he could make out... 

_Sniffling..?_

Picking up his pace, he rounded another corner and gingerly avoided some piece of fallen machinery before _finally_ coming across his brothers. 

Now, he really wished that could have been the end of his anxiety right then and there. If only things could be that simple for once in his life. 

Even with the disorienting lighting situation going on, it was near impossible to mistake the initial sight of his youngest brother kneeling on the ground. Mikey was jittery and his eyes were as wide as dinner plates. If Raph didn't know any better, he'd say the poor kid had just woken up from some kinda terrible nightmare. 

He did know better, though, since his gaze settled on the person Leo was crouched over before he even really knew what he was looking at. 

"Guys!" he exclaimed, rushing forward without another thought. 

"Raph!" Mikey greeted, voice wobbling in a way that made his heart hurt. Raph didn't hesitate to lean down and give his brother a hug as soon as he got within reach of him. 

"Oh, I'm _so_ glad you guys are in one piece! I thought you were in some serious trouble!" 

Mikey buried his face in the crook of Raph's shoulder, trembling like a leaf. He shushed his baby brother the best he could, rocking him back and forth without really processing the action. Noticing movement in the corner of his eye, Raph turned to glance over at Leo and- 

Oh, _Donnie._

"Is he-?" 

"Relax," Leo cut him off with a wave of his hand. "I've seen this before. The loser isn't hurt, I can guarantee that much." 

"W-Wait-" Raph stammered, feeling himself tense. "What do you _mean_ you've "seen this before"?!" 

"D-Dee's gonna be okay..??" Mikey sniffed, raising his head. "I-I couldn't get him to wake up, a-and I KNOW I wasn't supposed to be in his lab while he was working, but I-I thought he'd be asleep by now, a-and I just wanted to-" 

"Relaaaaax," Leo repeated again, reaching forward to put a finger on Mikey's lips. "Calm down, my sweet summer child. Leon's got this all handled." 

Something about Leo's tone had Raph's hackles raised. Sure, Donnie having some kinda mishap in his lab wasn't exactly unheard of, but the way his brother was speaking made it sound like he was just trying to act more knowledgeable about this all than he actually was. 

And that's never a good thing with Leo.

"How can you be so sure?" 

"Well, he's got his battle-shell on, so we know he isn't in any serious danger," Leo explained, cracking his knuckles. "And he didn't hit his head on anything but the floor, from the looks of it."

"And HOW is that any better??" 

"Raphie baby, look at me. You're talking to a trained professional, here. I've lived with the guy for over fourteen years, now. You think I don't know how to assist my little brother?" 

"Y-You," Mikey stuttered, "you guys are the same age-"

"Now, normally," Leo continued, "I use cold water whenever I wanna get Don up, but I left that in the kitchen, soooo..." 

Yeah, no, he **REALLY** wasn't liking the sound of that. 

"Leo. Don't you dare." 

Mikey's eyes darted between his two brothers, slowly catching onto Leo's thought process. "W-Wait, dude, no. M- _Maybe_ listen to Raph on this one??" 

"Or we could go get dad!" 

"Yeah! I-If anyone can help, it's dad! Just- c'mon, Leo, dude, I-I screwed up enough, you don't have to-" 

Naturally, Leo wasn't listening to either of them. Instead of using common sense, he reared a hand back and slapped Donnie across the face with little to no remorse. 

The response was immediate, shockingly enough, with Donnie nearly headbutting Leo from how quickly he sat up in a blind panic. 

"THE ANSWER WAS FOUR, OH MY GOD." 

"Welcome back, sleeping beauty." 

"LEO GET OFF OF ME RIGHT NOW, I HAVE TO WRITE THIS DOWN." 

"Uh- no? If you're doing math in your sleep, then I think that's called having a serious problem. So, why don't we just take a chill pill, and-" 

Donnie didn't seem to have much patience for his brother's antics at the moment, and honestly, Raph couldn't blame him. Pushing Leo off of himself, Donnie made a mad dash to get back onto his feet. Having just been forcibly woken up from some kind of stupor took its toll on him, however, as he tripped over nothing in his rush.

Raph broke away from the hug on impulse, lurching forward to grab onto his brother before he hit the ground again. Everything had happened WAY too fast for his comfort. He was still trying to piece together just what exactly had happened to cause this mess. 

"Woah, there, hold on, Donnie! You ain't goin' _anywhere_ until you start forkin' up some answers!" 

Donnie struggled against his grip like an angry cat, not even so much as offering a "thank you" for his generous brotherly efforts. 

"Later..! Let go of me, I gotta- I have to assess the damage and make sure it's all- I gotta-" 

"Nope, nuh-uh, no 'ya don't. It can wait. Just- A-Are 'ya hurt, at least??"

"Nooo..." 

"Did'ja get any brain damage? Is your shell fine?? I know it probably is, but I'm just makin' sure-"

"Raaaaaaaph..!" 

"Hey! Don't you 'Raph' me! I'm not lettin' go of 'ya 'til you start makin' some sense of-" Raph cut himself off mid-sentence, a robotic limb from his brother's battle-shell extending and getting all up in his personal space. 

Oh, if Donnie thinks he can get away from him THAT easily, he's got another thing coming. 

"Donatello, you put those things away right now!" 

"Let go of me and maybe I will!" 

"I **will** break 'em if I have to!" 

" _Oh-ho-ho, trust me, you don't wanna do that, Raph._ " 

"Guys," Leo tried to intervene, "come on, now. We don't have to resort to violence." 

"You hypocrite!" Donnie fired back before Raph could get the chance to. "You're lucky I have my priorities right now, because so help me-" 

"Dee!" Mikey butted in, running up ahead to stand in front of his two older brothers. "Dee, bro, _please!_ If you're gonna be mad at anyone, be mad at me! This whole thing was my fault, remember?" 

Raph loosened his grip on Donnie a little as his sibling took a moment to acknowledge Mikey's self-sacrifice. He realized that was a mistake too little too late, as Donnie shrugged Mike's apology off faster than he'd expected him to. Those annoying metal legs of his easily pried Raph off enough for him to escape. 

"Yeah, yeah, I remember, Mikey. I'll be mad at you later, just-" Donnie didn't finish that thought as he callously walked over his younger brother, clearly distracted as he hurried to slink away into the lab.

Mikey visibly slumped at the blatant rejection, hanging his head and wrapping his arms around himself. Raph knew the kid would start crying again any minute, now, so he was keen on putting an end to that before it started; offering Mike some supportive pats on the shoulder. 

While he could certainly understand Donnie's annoyance, he was **definitely** gonna be having a _chat_ with the family genius about this, later.

"I messed up, Raph..! He _hates_ me, now!" 

"No, don't say that. F'course he doesn't. You know it's just- i-it's just Donnie bein' Donnie!" 

Mikey sniffed and leaned into Raph, going in for another hug. Who was he to say no to that? 

It was one of the nicer moments they'd had this morning. Now if only a certain someone would quit being dodgy and vague.

"Man," Leo said after a couple beats of silence. "What got under _his_ shell?" 

Mikey and Raph turned on their brother in an instant. 

"See, THIS is why we don't smack people, Leo!" Raph felt like he was talking to a ten year old all over again. "You KNOW how Donnie gets!" 

"Yeah!" Mikey added, wiping away some stray tears before crossing his arms. "Not cool, man! I-I was already worried enough before you had to go and get him even MORE peeved!" 

"Hey! Don't gang up on me like this! I _helped!_ You said you couldn't get him to wake up, so-"

"That doesn't mean you had to be a jerk about it!" 

"Oh, and who exactly is the jerk in the room when _you_ clearly know more about the situation than you're letting on?" Leo countered, taking his turn to cross his arms. 

"We weren't the ones pestering Don before whatever exploded, so maybe be a good brother and _clue us in so we could help out with a bit more TACT?_ " 

"I know just as much as you do!" Mikey threw right back, tossing his arms up in the air. "You're being an even BIGGER jerk, now!" 

"Oh, yeah? I hope you know them's fighting words, partner." 

"Knock it off! The both a 'ya!" Raph demanded, stepping in between his bickering siblings. "NOT the time!" 

"B-But HE started it!" 

"I know, Mike. I know." 

"Uh, the only thing I _'started'_ was getting some actual work done!" Leo deflected, earning a fresh glare the moment that sentence ended. 

"Yeah. If by 'actual work', you mean 'making things more difficult for everybody', then sure, you're a real winner," Mikey muttered under his breath. 

"WHAT did you just say to me, shortstack?" 

"WHO ARE YOU CALLIN' SHORT, YOU WANNABE ANIME PROTAGONIST?!" 

"Oh!" Leo gasped, "it is **on!** " 

"Nope!" Raph butted in at once. "Nope, nope, extra nope." 

He grabbed his two bickering brothers and held them up in his arms, being sure to keep them as far apart as he could. 

"Oh, and, did I mention: _NO!_ " 

"Raaaaph," they complained at once, vainly attempting to get at one another in his grasp.

"Not fair! Leo's bein' a big BUTT! Lemme just kick him around for a bit and then I'll calm down- I PROMISE!" 

"I'M not the one being a butt, _mister!_ You should be thanking me for my valiant efforts! I- I _came to your rescue!_ " 

"But _I_ wasn't the one who NEEDED rescuing!" 

" _I'm_ the one who needs rescuin' from this entire situation," Raph grumbled. 

"Look!" he went on before either of them could start up again. "If you guys don't SHUT UP and MAKE UP in the next five seconds, I'm gonna shake 'ya 'til you do!" 

Miraculously, that was what managed to get them both to quiet down. Sure, they turned up their noses at each other and crossed their arms, but it was better than nothing. 

" _Fine_ ," they relented together. 

"BUT," Mikey added pointedly, "Raphael, would you please tell Leonardo that we are no longer on speaking terms until he apologizes to me for calling me short?" 

"I am not doin' that." 

Leo scoffed. "Raph, could you _please_ tell Miguel that he IS short, and that I am NOT a wannabe anime protag, when I'm CLEARLY already a fully-fledged main character?" 

"What are we? Five?"

"No, nevermind. Raph, would you tell Leo that him thinking he'd be the hero and not the villain of the anime is the funniest thing I've ever heard in my entire life?"

" _I'M NOT THE EVIL TWIN!_ " Leo practically exploded, throwing a murderous glare at Mikey. "For the last time, that title goes to Don-" 

They all took a moment to pause, looking up in surprise as the flickering lights overhead seemed to have fixed themselves at the mere mention of their brother. Finally, the labs weren't a headache-inducing nauseating fun house, anymore.

"-nie..." 

"Huh," Raph noted. "Speak a' the devil. Donnie must'a fixed 'em while you two were snapping at each other's throats." 

"We don't snap," Mikey corrected irritably. "You're the only snapper 'round here, Raph." 

" _Ha!_ " Leo exclaimed, a wicked smile on his face. "You admitted it! He's a demon! Good twin Leon for the win!"

Raph didn't give Leo so much as a glance before letting him drop. Hearing Mikey's snickers made him drop him, too.

"Welp," he sighed, giving a good stretch and cracking his knuckles, "you two can stay here, if 'ya want. Ol' Raph's gonna get himself some answers to this mess." 

"Oh, NO, you're NOT!" Leo was all too quick to protest, scrambling to get back onto his feet after the abrupt drop off. "Not without me!" 

"And me!" Mikey chimed in, doing much the same. "If you're going after Donnie, I'm gonna be right behind you!" 

"Well," Raph started, but then trailed off as he gave a good _real_ look around the lab. 

Now that they all could actually SEE without having to squint constantly, he figured it couldn't hurt to give the place one last good look around. Giving Donnie as much time as he needed to get his scattered thoughts put together before they interrogated him was probably for the best, too. 

Making sure that he wasn't about to step in a puddle of that weird goo, he took a step back and turned to check out his surroundings. Judging by where they'd found Donnie and Mikey in the first place, he'd wager that the source of the explosion they'd heard couldn't be too far behind. 

Scanning the rundown lab, it wasn't long at all before Raph's eyes settled on something a little out of the norm. Flipped over onto its side was what looked like one of Don's lab tables. That wasn't unusual by itself, and it really wouldn't have stood out if there wasn't an array of different.. wires..?? he wanted to say wires trailing from said table to- 

Well, there was a reason he wasn't the science guy. To him, it just looked like Don had installed a jukebox in his lab and neglected to tell either of them about it. Knowing his brother, there was a real possibility that that actually was the case. 

"Let's start with _that_ ," he said, pointing to his latest discovery. "Mikey, you got any idea what all that is?" 

"Uh, dont'cha think it would help if you actually _looked_ at it, genius?" NOT Mikey responded. 

"Uh," Raph copied, "I'm pretty sure I asked MIKE-EY. Not LE-O."

"Why're you saying our names like that." 

"Take a wild guess, Leo."

"Oh!" ACTUALLY Mikey was heard gasping out, making them both turn their heads back to the table. Low and behold, their little brother had snuck his way over while they'd been distracted. 

"This!! This is the thing!"

"It's the thing?" Raph repeated, taking a step closer.

"It's the thing!! Come over here- but be careful!" Mikey cautioned, raising his hands. "There's a bunch'a glass pretty much everywhere, so don't-"

" _OW!_ " Leo cried from somewhere behind Raph. 

"-step on it- okay, you deserved that one, Leo." 

" _CAN IT, MIKEY!_ " 

Raph made his way over to the other side of the table, crouching down beside Mike so he could get a better look at the 'thing' that had supposedly been the catalyst to all this nonsense. 

He was expecting to find some sort of machine, or device, or even just nothing but a burnt table. Anything that was able to cause this much general damage surely would've disintegrated or something, right? How could it not?

Well, again, he wasn't the scientist for good reason, because what the culprit _actually_ ended up being was some kind of large beaker; shattered beyond repair and dripping with that same nasty goop scattered around the lab. With the better lighting, Raph could tell that it was in some kind of in-between of being dull grey and light blue. He honestly couldn't decide on one or the other, so he'd describe the color as greyish-blue.

It was certainly... something. He just didn't quite know what. Which is where Mikey came in. 

"This is what Donnie was working on before I came in," his little brother explained, grabbing a pen from off of the ground. "I scared him by accident, and I guess he poured in too much of something and that made it explode..?" 

Leaning back a bit, Mikey's eyes darted from the goo, to the pen, then back to the goo. Raph didn't really have the knowledge available to tell him not to do the obvious, so he didn't.

"But it was like, more of a clearish red before??" he added, rubbing his chin. "And it was boiling. I clearly remember the boiling part. And there were several of 'em- all pretty much the same color."

"Maybe the boiling part had to do with this neat-looking jukebox?" Leo suggested, lightly kicking the unknown invention. "The power shortage was probably from the obnoxiously loud chemical reaction. Mystery solved." 

"So I'm not crazy!" Raph exclaimed. "I KNEW it looked like a jukebox!" 

"I don't think it's a jukebox," Mikey put in almost matter-of-factly. "Maybe think more like some kinda generator?" 

"A generator, huh? Well, aren't you quite the little lab assistant! Learning all the fun terms and being all scientific and junk! We'll have another genius in the family before we know it! Following in Donnie's footsteps..." 

"Shut up! We're still not on speaking terms, y'know!"

"But you just spoke to me, so what is the truth?" 

Mikey didn't say anything back for once. Instead of falling for Leo's antics, he, instead, rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the pen and goo. Slowly but surely, he inched the pen forward, nearly recoiling away when it began to smoke after not even a full second of coming into contact with the stuff.

Soon, there wasn't even a portion of the pen to speak of. Mikey dropped it without a word, a horrified expression on his face. 

"Um," Raph said. 

"Okay," Mikey said secondly. 

"Alright!" Leo said thirdly, his hands on his hips. "Now we know for certain that we maybe possibly MIGHT want to avoid that stuff! Alright? Alright, okay."

"Mikey," Raph spoke up after taking a moment to process what they'd just witnessed. "Do you have any idea just _what_ in the _heck_ Donnie was trying to make in the first place..??" 

Mikey opened his mouth to reply, but was cut short as the familiar sound of metal legs across the lab floor made itself known; getting louder by the second. 

"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Donnie all but shrieked, scuttling into view faster than a startled rat. " _NONE OF YOU TOUCH THAT- GET AWAY FROM IT! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT TOUCHING IT!!_ " 

Raph and Mikey stood in surprise, holding their hands up to avoid the inevitable chiding from their sibling. Leo, on the other hand, remained unaffected and leaned up against the generator jukebox, arms crossed. 

"Calm down! We _know_ what it does to a pen, Donnie! Why would you think we'd want to find out what it does to _skin?_ " 

"Don't use that voice with me, Leo! You know VERY WELL why I would think you HOOLIGANS would be that stupid!" 

Breathing heavily, Donnie's attention was quickly turned back to his other two brothers. Locking eyes with Mikey, his manic expression somehow morphed into something that promised even more violence than before. 

"And **you.** " 

"Me," Mikey repeated meekly, ducking behind Raph for protection.

Donnie spoke slowly, gaining more volume as he went on. "Do you. Have. ANY. Idea. Of how mUCH WORK YOUR SORRY ORANGE BUTT JUST COST ME?!" 

"I'm sorry!" Mikey cried. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm SO sorry, Dee!! I-I'll make it up to you, honest!" 

"Donnie," Raph warned, keeping one hand on his baby brother and the other outstretched to avoid any physical outbursts from the currently enraged scientist. "You're at about a twenty right now, and I'm gonna need 'ya to bring it back down to at _least_ a nine." 

"OH, you'll make it up to me, alright," Donnie hissed, completely ignoring Raph for the time being. "You. YOU-" 

"Use your words, Don," Leo quipped, being greeted with a metal limb directly to the neck in response. Mikey reached up to grab at his own neck as he watched the physical altercation, visibly trembling from the intensity of Donnie's anger.

Donnie lifted Leo up to face level, uncaring of his brother's struggles to escape the vice grip of the machinery. In any other situation, Raph would've immediately rushed to Leo's aid. But, given how Leo pretty much deserved it... 

"'Use your words, Don'!" Donnie mocked, shaking Leo around a little. "Well, what about you, huh?! Huh, Leo? Use your words, Leo!"

"Ch-Choking.. me.." 

"WHAT?! SPEAK UP! I CAN'T HEAR YOU, LEO! YOU GOT SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO SAY TO ME?!" 

Okay, no. Donnie's going too far with this. _Geeze_ , is he pissed this time around. 

"Ey, yo, Donnie! Not cool, man! Put him down!" 

Donnie turned his furious gaze on Raph as soon as he opened his mouth. Luckily, things didn't have to get physical any more than they technically already had. Don thought things over, Raph could see it, before ultimately taking a deep breath and relaxing his posture; releasing his grip on Leo enough for him to slip. 

Mikey raced forward in a blur of green, bowling into Leo before he could hit the ground. Mike ended up just landing on top of Leo, but it was the thought that counted the most.

Bringing a hand up to his face, Donnie brought himself back down to his feet; extra limbs retracting back into his battle-shell. Raph made his way over to his brother, taking care to step over the mess of wires, and gave him a firm pat on the shoulder. 

"You alright, Donnie?" he asked quietly, knowing fully well that Donnie was the OPPOSITE of alright from how intense his homicidal outburst had been. 

"Yeah," came the almost breathless reply. "Y-Yeah, Raph, I'm- _fine._ I've got this awful migraine, but, sure, yeah, I'm cool. I'm alright. Let's just go with that for the time being." 

"Speak for yourself!" Leo groaned, voice muffled by the floor.

Raph broke out into a grin. "I knew you hurt _somethin'_ from your accident back there, 'ya big liar!" 

"No," Donnie deflected, taking his hand away from his face. "No, i-it wasn't that. Just- yelling at the top of your lungs kinda takes it all outta 'ya, y'know?" 

"So," Mikey spoke up, bashfully shrugging his shoulders. "Does... Does this mean you're not mad at me, anymore?" 

"Oh, don't think you're getting off the hook that easy. Just because I got most of the rage out of my system doesn't mean you're safe from my wrath."

Mikey gulped, but nodded along dejectedly to his future fate.

Leo shakily stood up, using the wall for a major portion of his support. "Yeah, okay, that's nice and all, Donnie, but could you **please** tell us what all this was for, now?? The suspense has been killing me for the past hour, now!"

"Yeah," Raph agreed, tilting his head. "Now that you've got your burning rage all repressed again, what kinda thing were you workin' on that involved that- weird goo stuff?" 

Donnie didn't meet Raph's gaze. "Uh," he said intelligently, biting his lip and glancing down to his wrist at his tech-gauntlet. "Well, I mean-"

"Just spit it out, Don." 

"DON'T RUSH ME- I-It was just supposed to be a better sort of resin for my tech- bō. Y'know, to- make it shinier and just all around better and even more amazing. Not really a huge deal, now that I think about it. Sorry, guys. Lost my cool." 

A beat of silence. Two. Then- 

" _ARE YOU SERIOUS?!_ " came the exasperated voices of Leo and Mikey; Leo, unsurprisingly, overshadowing Mikey by quite a bit. 

Mikey covered his mouth as he soon as he realized what he did, but Leo stomped over to Donnie's person and got up in his brother's face unapologetically. 

"So what you're telling me is: you nearly choked me out and made us go through this whole song and dance, JUST BECAUSE YOUR FANCY LITTLE BŌ RESIN _EXPLODED?!_ " 

Donnie didn't so much as blink. "That is what I said, yes." 

" _HOW DOES SOMETHING LIKE THAT EVEN EXPLODE?!_ " 

" _Well!_ Since you asked so _nicely!_ " 

"We don't have time for lecture mode, Don," Raph reminded. "Just give it to us short and sweet. We're all very tired." 

Donnie rolled his eyes and grumbled about something under his breath, but he relented, nonetheless. 

"I was just in the middle of adding the finishing touches when a certain **someone** came into my lab and startled me, making me accidentally add too much of, let's just call it Element A, into Elements B through D." 

They all waited a moment for Donnie's explanation to continue. When he kept typing away at something on his gauntlet, Leo let out a loud groan and hung his head. 

"Hate to break it to you, fellas, but the simple answer is sometimes the answer you're looking for. Sad but true."

"But when it comes to YOU, the simple answer is NEVER the answer!" Leo countered. Donnie simply shrugged. 

Mikey shook his head and narrowed his eyes, still just as confused as Leo seemed to be. The explanation, while a bit vague, yeah, made perfect sense to Raph. He wasn't really desiring anything more or less from Don at the moment, but Mikey apparently had other ideas. 

"But- But then _wait._ What about me ruining your tech-bō resin had you getting SO mad?? I don't think I've ever seen you that mad! Like. _Ever!_ " And, as an afterthought, "And why does a tech-bō even NEED resin?? Am I just stupid, or does that make no sense to anyone else? Hello???" 

Leo shrugged and gave an "eh" as a reply. Raph really didn't have much to say about this subject. Again, no one should trust him with anything technical. Ever.

That had Donnie hesitating for a moment, but he brushed it off with a scoff. 

"Michelangelo, how would you feel if I came into your room and started trashing everything that you hold near and dear in there? Answer honestly; wouldn't you just want to rip my head off? Wouldn't it make you angry enough to kill a man?" 

"But it was by accident! And you didn't even answer the-" 

"Accidents are still actions," Donnie chided, shooting Mikey a dangerous glare.

Clamming up, Mikey decided that he couldn't argue with that logic. 

Having nothing left to say, everyone just kind of took a second to glance around the lab again. Not for any particular reason, but because the sudden awkward air of the room made it more than a little difficult for either of them to look the other in the eyes. 

It had been a long morning, that's for sure. Donnie would have a heck of a lot of cleaning up to do before his lab was back to tip-top shape, but he wouldn't have to do it alone. Raph was more than sure of that. 

"Ugh, no..." 

They all looked back to Donnie as their brother pulled down his goggles, revealing giant cracks in the red and blue lenses. Sighing through his teeth, he took them off and carelessly tossed them over his shoulder. 

"Useless... Of course." 

Out of the corner of Raph's eye, Leo froze. Mikey, noticing it at the same time he did, shot Raph a glance. Raph didn't exactly know what was going through Leo's head, so he really didn't have anything to say for himself.

"Wait," Leo said, grabbing everyone's attention. 

Donnie raised a brow. "What?" 

"Wait. Wait, wait, wait right there. Don't move." 

Dashing over to where Donnie's goggles ended up landing, Leo picked them up and brought them back over to his brother. He pushed them into his hands, an odd expression on his face. 

"Put those back on for a sec."

Donnie looked down at the goggles, then back up at Leo, disbelief clear on his face. 

"Leo. They're broken."

"I know that, just shut up and put them back on your face." 

Rolling his eyes, Donnie eventually did as was asked of him, much to Mikey and Raph's further confusion. 

"There. Happy?" 

"Almost. Now take 'em off again."

"Leo, if this is some kind of joke or prank, learn to read the room. I'm _really_ not in the mood for-" 

Leo impatiently yanked the goggles off of Donnie's eyes for him, carefully inspecting Don's face. He did this a few more times before Donnie smacked his arms away.

It had taken until the second or third time around, but the realization had Raph and Mikey sharing another glance; this one more out of shock than anything. 

" _What?!_ " Donnie insisted, pulling the goggles off for the last time. "WHAT has gotten into you, Leo?!" 

"Uh.. I don't think you should be asking _me_ that question right now, bro.." 

"Dee," Mikey gaped, "your _eyes_..." 

"My _eyes?_ " Donnie echoed, a hand shooting up to his face. "Wh-What about my eyes??" 

"I-I thought it was just the lighting at first," Raph explained, "so I didn't say anything, but, Donnie..." 

"Donnie, your eyes are the same color as your goggles..!"

" _WHAT?!_ " Donnie yelped, immediately going into panic mode once again. "Wh- _HUH????_ HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE??" 

"Don't ask us!" Leo snapped. " _You're_ the guy who's supposed to have all the answers with this kinda stuff!" 

"Are 'ya in pain??" Raph asked, taking a step towards his brother. "Do your eyes hurt? Do you- Do you need like.. eye drops..? Or-" 

Donnie didn't give him any sort of response, instead diving towards a sliver of glass that had been on the ground. Looking into it and angling it to get a better view of his face, Donnie took his sweet time marveling at his discolored pupils. 

"Th-That," he stuttered and stammered after a moment, "I-I didn't account for- this isn't _normal._ Th-This shouldn't have even- I..." 

Feeling the familiar coldness of concern creep back into his chest, Raph looked from Mikey to Leo. They were both just watching Donnie with the same disconcerted expressions on their faces. If Don didn't know what to do, then they really didn't, either. 

Of course, Leo being Leo, he cleared his throat before long and placed a supportive arm over Donnie's shoulders. 

"H-Heeeyyyy, now... No need to get all riled up just because you've got a little- okay, a MAJORLY different eye color! It.. _happens_..." 

" _No it doesn't, Leo, we've just established this._ " 

"Eh..." Leo glanced off to Mikey for help.

"Do you.. Do you think we should get dad for this?" Mikey suggested almost sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. 

"Okay! Okay, yeah! Sure! We get dad, he makes fun of my eyes, and then he goes back to watching television all day long! GREAT idea, Mikey!" 

Raph stepped in, then. "Okay. Let's not overreact, here, Donnie. Th-There could be a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this!" 

He hurried to explain himself as Donnie turned around to give him an incredulous glare. "Wh-What I _mean_ is- do we even know if this change is... harmful...? Like.. What if it's _good?_ " 

Raph gestured for his brothers to help him out, not wanting to be working on the sales job all alone. 

Leo perked up at once. "Y- _Yeah!_ Heterochromia is aaaall the rage nowadays! Super fashionable!" 

Mikey joined right along with him. "Totally, dude! You look like some kinda fancy important supermodel with cool contacts! Just think of all the new fashion opportunities!" 

"Stop," Donnie moaned, tossing the glass back to the ground and not even flinching as it breaks. "Don't try to fuel my ego about this even though it's totally working!" 

"And you know dad won't make fun of you about this!" Raph was sure to correct, easing up beside Donnie. "If anything, he'd be like 'oh, Purple, my most favorite and coolest son, how proud you make me with your fancy science'." 

"Stop it! Stop it, I'm serious! Stop trying to cheer me up, this could have genuine adverse health effects down the road!" 

"And if it does, we'll worry about it right along with you, then!" Leo stated with a wide smile. "But until then, you're the cool twin! Live with it!" 

Running out of viable excuses to keep panicking for the time being, Donnie frantically looked between all three of his siblings surrounding him. Getting nothing but reassuring and understanding smiles thrown his way, he gradually visibly relaxed and resorted to holding his head in his hands. 

" _This is the worst day of my liiiiiife aaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAA- _"__

__Mikey darted forward and brought a finger to Donnie's lips, quieting his distressed monotone screaming._ _

__"Correction: it's the best day of your life! Because you've got three wonderful and helpful brothers here to get both you and your lab back in working order!"_ _

__"Yeah, what he said!" Raph affirmed._ _

__"And I won't even complain about cleaning anything!" Leo assured. But then he thought it over and added, "For the most part."_ _

__" _There's no getting out of this, is there._ " _ _

__"Nope!" they all said unanimously, cramming together and following the unspoken rule of "a family bonding moment requires at least one group hug"._ _

__Thankfully, Donnie didn't push on with his protests, and instead silently brooded over the morning's events. As one does._ _

__And, hey, honestly speaking? Things could've gone worse. WAY worse. If a sudden and unexplainable change in eye color was the most terrible thing life had to throw at them all for the day, then they could handle it. Not even a lab full of broken glass and highly acidic bō resin could bring them down._ _

__Quite frankly, Raph was just glad that this meant he could get back to his last sandwich before long. His stomach was still jonesing for it, bad._ _


	2. Secrets and Lies

_"I have no idea what you're so upset about. If something was wrong, then I'm pretty sure we would've known about it, by now. You need to learn to relax, more!"_

Yeah, maybe that was true. 

_"Donnie! Bro! Quit looking at yourself! I can't carry all these books by myself!"_

But how could he **not?**

_"You were special before, Don, but NOW? Now you're fire!"_

_"No matter what your eyes look like, or how much you push us away sometimes, we'll always love you, Dee!"_

_"I called it! Dad didn't make fun of you. Would you quit being so overly self-conscious, now?"_

Donnie let out a shaky sigh as he stared back at himself in his bedroom mirror. He'd had to put up with encouragements like that and more for nearly the entire day. As much as he hated it, the words wouldn't stop swirling around his head. They jumbled up his thoughts and made things so much more- _confusing_ than they ought to be. 

Though, if he was any less of, well, himself, he supposed he would've easily let his family just calm his nerves and move on as quickly as they all had. 

They were trying to be supportive. He knew that. It wasn't their fault that they were kinda making things worse on his end by the minute. After the whole, well, lab fiasco, he hadn't been able to have even a SECOND of alone time. His brothers had been _everywhere_ , trying to do anything they could to help him out. 

They cleared out the clutter, HE disposed of the failed experiment, and he even saw Mikey dusting the nooks and corners that he seldom ever thought about. Although, of course, that last one was partially his fault. He _had_ made Mikey do a considerable portion of the clean up work as punishment. A part of him was pretty sure that Mikey would've taken it upon himself to do most of the work, anyway, though. 

And Donnie couldn't lie- it was.. _nice._ It was so nice of his brothers to be so willingly involved like that. 

But he knew it was only because they didn't trust him to be alone. Not after an outburst on that level. They were probably afraid he'd go all 'mad scientist' on them if he was left to his own devices. Probably worried he'd gouge his own eyes out for the sake of science, haha...

Yeah. That was funny and also definitely a joke. He wished that had been a joke and that that hadn't been a thought that genuinely occurred to him, even if it was only for a split second and not at all a serious one. That was the exact opposite of helpful or smart.

Donnie felt a rock settle into his stomach. The longer he continued to stare into the mirror, the longer he felt like he was going to be sick. 

He clearly remembered yelling at Raph. Mikey. Doing a bit _more_ than yelling when it came to Leo (he never did apologize for that). It felt like a blur, now, but no, that pure blinding rage was- was something else. Sure, he'd been- **pissed**. Just recalling the moment he realized everything went up in flames made him feel- 

I-It made him feel... 

Guilt. 

He glanced away for only a moment to shoot a glance at his tech-gauntlet, bitterly remembering the notes he'd been religiously taking since the jarring discovery. 

If he didn't monitor everything, something was telling him that it'd bite him in the ass later. There was nothing wrong with wanting to know if something bad was going on with your own body. Nothing.

A-And _besides!_ He wasn't being _self-conscious!_ He was being PERFECTLY wary of the potential possibly lethal, possibly debilitating- THING! 

He leaned forward to get a better view in the dim lighting, eyes wide as he did a double check for only the hundredth time that evening. Try as he may, some part of him just did not want to accept the facts. 

But they were there. Oh, were they there. His left eye was clearly a dull blue, and his right was unmistakably a muddy red. 

Completely unprecedented, and yet wholly a reality. It was driving him up the wall.

Donnie drew back, blinking roughly and rubbing his eyes to soothe the irritated skin. Poking and prodding anywhere near your eyes felt terrible by itself, so imagine his dismay with having to literally take samples of the surrounding tissue earlier in the day. 

God, he shuddered just recalling the various experiments. If he could just close his eyes and not have to use them again for the next twenty hours, that'd be _great._

He knew it all had been, mandatory, though.

 _How_ would something like this even _happen?_ Was the color change just a coincidence? Was it- 

Well, no. He had a sinking feeling that he knew **exactly** what the color change was, but he'd already ran countless tests on himself JUST to make sure, and- 

"Knock knock," a voice said, startling him out of his wits and making him yelp. He nearly fell as he stumbled backwards, but caught himself at the last minute.

A flash of indignation coursed through him as he turned to see Leo poke his head past the curtain to his room. 

Oh, of _course._ Of course it was the last person he wanted to see right now. Him, right along with any other sentient being on the planet. 

"Wh- Why would you-" Relax. Think about your words before you say them, dumbass. " _Why would you knock on a CURTAIN, Leo?!_ " 

"Why do you have a curtain?" Leo shot back, unamused. 

To that, Donnie's answer was a firm arm cross. 

Despite ABSOLUTELY NOT being invited in, Leo sighed and stepped inside anyway. He was wearing his typical nighttime getup and holding a steaming mug of _something_ , which told Donnie that he was likely not awake at this hour by choice. Go figure. 

"What do you even want? I'm very busy right now, if you couldn't tell."

Leo glanced at the mirror and nodded his head knowingly. "Ah, right. Of course, my bad. Terribly sorry for interrupting your nightly stress out sesh. I know how much you love croaking at the ripe age of thirty."

Donnie brought a hand up and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do you enjoy tormenting me? Is that what this is?" 

"Nope," Leo reassured, popping the 'p' in a way that irritated him beyond belief.

Donnie was just about to forget common decency and shove his brother out of his room. Leo _wasn't helping_ , and he REALLY chose LITERALLY THE WORST TIME to show up. He needs _peace_ and _quiet!_ Not- 

"Is-" He paused to take a deep breath. 

"Is that my coffee?" 

Leo snorted like it was a ridiculous question to ask. "You know I don't drink that crap."

"Tea?" he tried again. Leo smirked. 

"Chamomile. Want a sip?" 

"If you think that backwash is going anywhere near my mouth, you've got another thing coming." 

Leo shrugged at that. "Suit yourself. More for me, then. But, hey, let's not change the subject, alright?" 

Donnie surprised himself by letting out an incredulous laugh. It was moreso a scoff than anything. 

" _What_ subject? The- The _subject_ of you _annoying me_ in the middle of the night??" He shook his head and turned back around to his mirror. "Yeah, sure, Leo. Let's get back to that, shall we?" 

"C'mon, Don," Leo chided, almost. "You're smart. You can figure out why I'm here." 

Donnie scrutinized his reflection, disregarding the sharp sting in his eyes as he forced them to focus yet again on the pieces of him that were horribly out of place. Reaching up to pull down the eyelid on his right eye, he had to blink and look away before long when the burn became too much. 

"Yeah, well, apparently NOT, because to me, it just sounds like you're being vague to get on my nerves." 

"Don," Leo said again, but then became exasperated as he added, "would you quit messing with your eyes and look at me?" 

Donnie pointedly turned to face the wall to the right of his mirror; exactly the opposite of where his brother was standing. 

"BRO! What the heck!?" 

He turned again and crossed his arms. He was now facing the wall behind his mirror. Leo grumpily waved a hand in his face, which he knocked to the side without a second thought. 

"WHAT?" he relented. "What do you want?!" 

"To stop- _this!_ " Leo emphatically gestured to Donnie's person, the tea in his mug nearly sloshing out from the harsh movement. " _You!_ " 

He quirked a brow. "To stop _me?_ From doing what, exactly? Running my research in the comfort of my own room and lab? Oh, the horror!" 

He made a face as he annexed, "And if you get even a single drop of that on this floor, no one will ever find your body."

Leo's irritated expression stayed on his face, and for a moment, Donnie thought his brother was _actually_ going to yell at him. Not like he didn't deserve it right now, but still, a REAL real-talk with LEO? Who died and made him Raph? 

But, then, of course, Leo was grinning again, and Donnie tensed up.

"Oh.. Oh no.. I'm shaking..."

"Stop."

"I'm shaking and quaking in my custom baby seal leather boots..." 

" _Stop._ " 

"Oh... Oh no, Mistew Pwesident-" 

"YOU ARE NOT UTTERING THAT GOD-FORSAKEN MEME WHILE IN MY PRESENCE." 

Leo's guffaws that followed were nearly the straw that broke the camel's back. Just how Donnie restrained himself from committing murder in that moment will forever remain a mystery. 

Leave it to his brother to be oddly serious one moment, then be spouting absolute jackshit the next. He feels like he's going insane.

"I'm sorry," Leo managed to get out long after Donnie had zoned himself out of the situation. His brother had the nerve to throw an arm over his shoulders and act like he hadn't just casually said the most cursed thing on the planet. 

Everything seems to be in order, then. 

"Why must you turn my room into a house of lies, Leon?" 

"Your face," he snickered back, "is ALWAYS _priceless!_ " 

"Oh, okay. Yeah. I see. Alright. You have five seconds to get out before I activate Shelldon." 

_That_ had Leo rethinking his actions. Oh, not by much, but the sliver of fear he could see flash through his sibling gave him more satisfaction than making good on his threat would have. 

"Okay!" Leo relented, removing himself from Donnie's person and taking a couple steps away. "Alright! I'll stop! No need to call the cavalry on me, geeze." 

"I wouldn't _need_ the cavalry if my family wasn't just a bunch of wild animals out for blood." 

"I," Leo began, actively thinking his words through as he spoke, "cannot argue with 'ya, there." 

"Oh- OH. So you admit it, do you??" 

"I admit it. You caught me red-handed." 

A beat of silence. A vile little upwards twitch of Leo's lips.

"Or, well, should I say..."

Oh dear God no. 

"... _Red-eared...?_ " 

"That was weak, especially for you, Leo." 

"Oh, so what you're saying is you want me to try harder? Is that it? That what you want?"

"I wish dad never found you." 

Leo's smirk became impish as he reached over to set his mug on a nearby table. They meaningfully locked eyes as Leo slowly but surely raised his arms. 

"I'm gonna do it," he whispered. 

"Leo, I **will** get Shelldon in here." 

"It's already in motion, though, bro. You can't stop it when it's in motion." 

" _I'll tell dad. I WILL tell dad that you're bothering me._ " 

Leo stilled for a minute. And then he quickly ducked his head into his elbow and dabbed. 

" _Booyakasha._ " 

Donnie reacted really the only way you could, and should, react when your sibling has the nerve, the gall, the audacity to dab while within twenty-five miles of you: he made a dive-bomb for a switch on the floor in the corner of his room. 

Within seconds, a previously dull neon sign lit up just above his bed; reserved only for Leo or Mikey-related occasions. They both knew their crimes, and yet they still thought that they were untouchable gods. Well, guess what?

They walk into his domain, they get the "No Dabbing" sign. 

Yes. He made a sign. 

Yanking Leo back by the collar of his shirt, Donnie grabbed the sides of his brother's face and forced him to acknowledge the written laws of this land. 

" _What does it say, Leo?_ " 

Leo made a sound like a mix between a sob and a laugh. 

"O-Oh, so you installed it?"

" _Yes, I installed it. Tell me what it says, you filthy cur._ "

"I-I _can't-_ g-gimme a sec-" 

" _IT SAYS 'NO DABBING', LEO._ " 

Leo pushed against Donnie's grip on him, but it was a halfhearted effort. Fortunately for him, his laughter made it impossible for Donnie to even _want_ to keep holding onto him. 

Completely and utterly disgusted, he shoved Leo away from his person, sending his brother bowling into his bed. 

"As soon as you quit dying over your own poor excuse of a "joke", you can get out." 

"No!" he assured, quickly raising a hand before he could be dismissed. "No, no! I-I'm cool- I'm good! I can be serious, just- give me a minute!"

Donnie rolled his eyes and checked the time. "You have twelve seconds." 

"Oh! Feeling generous today, are we?" 

"Five seconds."

"Oh, great!" Leo stood and cracked his knuckles- a classic move for when he was trying to act composed, but clearly was not. Donnie could still see his shoulders shaking. The loser couldn't keep a straight face right now if he was being held at gunpoint. 

"I can work with that, no problem."

"Incorrect, you have less than two secoNDS-" Before he could have a chance to react, Leo shot out an arm and grabbed hold him in much the same way he had done to Leo not three minutes ago. 

He was served some just karma, with them switching places as he fell stomach first onto his own bed. 

Struggling only briefly to get himself back into a more _flattering_ position, Donnie sharply turned and glared at his curse of a brother. There were a million things he wanted to say in that one instant, but unfortunately, it all just kinda came out as, 

" _HHHHHHH..!_ " 

Very eloquently put, Donatello. You are going places for sure.

" _Hhhhh?_ ," Leo mimicked, kneeling down to get on better eye level even though it was NOT necessary. "Qué? Habla usted Inglés?" 

"I AM. SO ANGRY WITH YOU RIGHT NOW." 

"Ah. Alright. I was worried you bumped your head or something on the wall for a second, there. Thought you spontaneously forgot how to speak English." 

"So you thought I'd understand _SPANISH?!_ " 

"Don't you?" 

"IRRELEVANT!" 

Leo snickered and shook his head. His face was looking EXTRA punchable tonight, now that Donnie thought about it. Yes, very very punchable. He knows he's been considering it since the moment Leo decided to intrude on his privacy, but he was being deathly serious this time around when he meant that he will commit assault and battery tonight if this continues. 

"Y'know," Leo said again after a second or two of tense silence and anger between them. "It's kinda funny how you can say that right now." 

Donnie's eye twitched. " **_Elaborate._** " 

"Oh, well, I mean, it's not like _"haha"_ funny. More like sad funny, because, like, you can say that you understanding Spanish to a basic degree is irrelevant..." 

He paused and tilted his head to the side as if making some kind of profound point. 

"... but then I come in here, and what's the first thing I see you doing?" 

Donnie didn't know how to answer that. 

"I see you," Leo replied for him, "picking yourself apart and doing the classic "Donnie Overthink"." 

He glanced at the floor at once. Leo went on. 

"And when I try to bring it up, because, and let's be clear on this, it is a _problem_ , what do you do, Don? What happened when I tried to get you to be the serious one, here?" 

He scowled. "Nothing." 

" _'Nothing'?_ You- You sure that's the answer you wanna go with?" 

"Yeah. Yes, actually," he shot back, getting the nerve to glance back up at his brother. "Because nothing DID happen. All you did was goof around and make jokes while I-" 

"Shhh," Leo quieted, bringing a finger up to his own lips as a warning. "Those jokes weren't for nothing, Don. I know you. I know how you get." 

Donnie shifted uncomfortably on his bed, not liking the _look_ Leo was giving him right now. 

He hated this. He hated how Leo could somehow miraculously flip a switch and go from terrible memelord to child psychologist in the blink of an eye (haha, "eye". Because of his- haha yeah, he's not funny). 

It didn't help that Donnie could see that Leo was exhausted. The guy's been having a bad streak lately when it came to not sleeping, and it showed. It made him kinda wish he'd been a bit nicer from the start. 

Kinda. 

"If I didn't loosen things up and just jumped right into the conversation, we'd never get anywhere. Been there, done that." 

"Leo, I-" 

"No, no," Leo waved away. "You don't have to apologize. It's not your fault you think how you're feeling about something is _irrelevant_ and stupid when there's a "bigger picture"." 

"I don't-!" 

"We're twins, Donnie. Twins know twins. 'Ya can't hide from me, even though you wish you could." 

Donnie opened his mouth, SO ready to fire back. SO ready to say that, _"We're not twins"_ and _"We aren't blood related, Leo. Quit calling us that."_

It would have been so easy to just let his mind go blank and let his body do the talking for him. 

But then he remembered how he's been acting lately. He remembered exactly **why** he'd been working on that latest failed experiment. He remembered everything he didn't want to. 

And it _hurt_. And it felt like he was being _choked._

He eyed Leo's neck in the dim lighting, and he didn't say a word. 

Leo stayed crouched there, contemplating for a good moment. Donnie knew that his brother had seen the flash of regret that forced itself along his body. He knew he'd been caught, and he tried not to feel self-conscious about it.

It wasn't until Leo broke the eye contact to reach back for his mug of tea that Donnie actually blinked and relaxed muscles he didn't know were tensed. _God_ , if his eyes didn't sting before... 

The tea was being pushed into his hands before he knew it. The mug was still warm. 

Donnie swallowed, not wanting his voice to come out as shaky as he felt. 

"Leo, I..." He sighed. "I told you that I'm not drinking it, already." 

"I made it for you," Leo clarified gently, "not for me. Never even sipped it."

He closed his eyes. Of course he would do something like that. 

"Y-You're," stuttering really wasn't helping his case right now, "you're tired." 

"And you aren't?" Acting a heck of a lot like Raph, Leo wasn't having any excuses Donnie could come up with to reject the blatant affection. 

His sibling carefully cupped the end of the mug and tried to tilt it up towards his mouth. "Down the hatch, c'mon. Just one drink and I won't keep bothering you about it. Promise." 

Donnie reluctantly opened his eyes again to stare down at the pale amber liquid. It took everything in him to not just glower like a cranky seven year old being berated by an adult. He knew that was basically what was happening, regardless of how nice Leo was being about all of this. 

AND not to mention that as much as Leo wants to act like he isn't, if Mikey didn't exist, he'd be the baby of the family. They both knew that. Leo was well aware of that, he was certain. 

"I can't believe you, sometimes." 

"Heh. Yeah. I bet you can't." 

Even so, he didn't say any of that out loud. He simply did what was requested of him; the tea almost instantly warming him up from head to toe. 

Although he visibly shuddered from the satisfaction the soothing beverage gave him, he'd never admit that he was actually pretty thirsty. He'd reserve chugging the rest for when Leo finally leaves. 

"How is it?" 

"It's good," he assented, allowing a tiny smile to show. "And I'm not just saying that or being sarcastic, for once." 

"The power of good tea," Leo nodded. "Who knew dad could be right about something once in a while?" 

"Woah, hey now. I don't think you can go _that_ far." 

Rather than throwing another quip right back, Leo chuckled in response. Leo had been laughing an awful lot tonight, sure, but it had mostly been at Donnie's expense. 

But now, knowing that it all had been a ploy for a heart to heart..? 

Well, he wanted to puke from the sappiness of it all, but even he had to admit that it felt _good._

His eyes still hurt like hell and he wanted to crash for the next several centuries, but everything felt _alright_ all of a sudden. He had to laugh along with his brother.

And it felt so nice.

Leo fell into place beside him, wrapping an arm around his waist and resting his head on his shoulder. For once, Donnie couldn't bring himself to mind it. He practically owed Leo this much, anyway, he supposed. 

He'd been about to take another drink when he heard Leo open his mouth to say something again.

"I'm.. sorry." 

"Huh?"

"About your resin. Or, whatever you said it was." 

Donnie's heart skipped a beat. "Oh." He lowered the mug and let it sit back on his lap. 

"Yeah. You got, uh. _Pretty peeved_ , so I figured it was really important to you." 

He did. He did do that. 

"O-Oh, uh." He tried his best to brush it all off, shrugging his shoulders. 

"Nah. Honestly? I knew it- wasn't going to work... I-I messed up the formula long before Mikey interrupted me. It- wasn't actually anyone's fault but mine. Don't tell Mikey that." 

"Still," Leo persisted, "I was acting like a real dick back there. You guys know I make jokes when I'm nervous, but I'm man enough to admit that I went overboard." 

_"Sure,"_ he'd wanted to say, _"but I'M the one who needs to be apologizing right now. Not you."_

He didn't. 

"Don't sweat the small stuff. It's over, now, so..." 

"...so you wanna forget about it?" he finished for him. 

"Why dwell on the past? We all said plenty of things we didn't mean. What's new?" 

"Huh," Leo contemplated. "Y'know what? You might just be right about that." 

Donnie blinked. "Oh, wow. Did you seriously just tell me I was _right_ about something? _You?_ "

Leo reached up and flicked the side of his head. "Ey, don't let it go to that big head of yours. I'm trying to be nice, here." 

He grinned and attempted to shake his brother off, trying not to act like he appreciated the moment they were having.

"Ow! Don't do that; I've still got that migraine, y'know!" 

"Oops~ My bad, brother. C'mere, lemme make it up to you." 

"Get away from me!" 

Donnie had to scramble away as Leo moved in to give him a kiss on the forehead. He absolutely REFUSED to be subjected to such overly affectionate drivel. Not on that level, not today. Not if he had any say about it.

"Leo, you're gonna make me spill the tea!" 

"Then stop moving around so much and let me love you!" 

" _HELP! ASSAULT! ASSAULT!!_ " 

Despite actively pushing against Leo's chest, it was no use. Even he could not have any hopes of escaping the promise of tender care and brotherly attachment. Leo won the fight with a quick peck, but he had yet to win the war. 

"There!" Leo triumphed, smiling over him.

" _ACK! IT BURNS!_ " 

"Oh, quit being such a drama queen!" 

" _IT BUUUURRRRRNSS..! I'LL NEVER BE CLEAN, AGAIN!_ " 

"Oh, yeah. 'Clean'. Sure." 

" _Get off of me, you vile heathen!_ " he cried, lolling his head to the side in an appropriate display of his dismay. " _You got what you wanted... What more can you take..?_ " 

Donnie felt himself smirk as Leo let out a fit of giggles. No, no he would never tell his brother how much he treasured moments like these; even if they tended to irritate him beyond belief sometimes. Leo had a big enough ego as is. 

But he felt no shame in acknowledging how much he appreciated the guy. Honestly, he needed this. He needed a break from all the drama that he'd, admittedly, been nearly the sole creator of.

Say what he would about Leo, but he was people smart, while he, himself, was book smart. That had to count for something, right? 

It was only when Donnie heard his brother give a yawn that he opened an eye to peak up in curiosity. Right. He'd nearly forgotten that Leo was in some dire need of sleep. 

And he was in some dire need of quiet research time. They should both be going their separate ways, soon, huh.

Apparently Leo had the same idea, as he sat back, rubbing his eyes in what seemed to be an effort to keep them open. Donnie took the opportunity fully sit back up, carefully setting the mug on the ground so as to not drop or spill it. 

"Welp," Leo sighed after a minute. "I.. I guess I got kinda derailed there at the last minute, but the point I was trying to make is: I love you, bitch." 

"Leo," he groaned. 

Leo smiled. "And I ain't ever gonna stop lovin' you, biiiitch~!" 

"Leo, I'm telling dad you swore." 

"If you do that, then you're gonna have to catch these hands, buddy. Stitches get snitches." 

They both stilled at that. Donnie could see the exact moment Leo regretted existing. 

"Wait, crap, I-I meant-" 

"Aaaand this is about the time where Leonardo heads to Sleepy Time Junction. C'mon, bud, we're going to the station." 

"Oh, hardy har, Donnie. Don't use your baby voice on me; I'm NOT Mikey." 

"I don't know what you're talking about." 

"You know _exactly_ what I'm talking about." 

"If you don't get your butt in gear, I will drag you there. That train ride is _long_ overdue. You're lucky I saved your ticket for you."

Leo rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue, but he ultimately complied; standing up and giving a good stretch. Donnie could have sworn he heard him mutter something along the lines of, " _I'm_ the older twin, I can't believe you've done this". 

Yeah, sure. Keep telling yourself that, Leo.

Donnie stayed where he was on his bed, watching as his brother folded his arms behind his head and began to make his way out. Although he knew that Leo needed to leave, and that he _wanted_ him to leave, something just wasn't sitting right with him about the entire situation. 

He felt like he was forgetting something. Something important. 

And it wasn't until Leo adjusted the collar of his PJs that Donnie remembered it.

 _"Tell him"_ , his mind berated. _"You're really just going to let him leave without being honest with him? Without being honest to ALL OF THEM after what you did?"_

"Fine, I'm going. Are you happy now, _mom?_ " 

Donnie's smile gradually fell the longer he thought it over. All at once, he decided that, no, he wasn't okay with this. 

He had to do something. 

"Wait!" he practically shouted, jumping from his bed without thinking it all through first. 

Leo jolted, quickly turning around to face him again. Locking eyes with his sibling, Donnie's brain immediately emptied itself of anything useful or coherent. 

Leo stared at him for a moment, obviously expecting him to say something, anything, after an outburst like that. The most Donnie could say for himself to start off was a whole lot of nothing. 

"Yeah...?" he pushed. "Is- Did- Did something _happen_ , or...?" 

"I," Donnie started, mouth unreasonably agape. "I-I just.. wanted to say.. um..." 

_"Tell him before this all possibly gets out of hand. It's the right thing to do, you brilliant moron."_

"I-I wanted to say.. sorry." 

He swallowed. 

"For, uh. The- For choking you, earlier." 

_"There's a special place in Hell for people like you."_

Leo blinked, taken back by the abrupt apology. He tilted his head to the side and glanced off, looking almost bashful. If he hadn't have tugged his shirt, Donnie would have thought his brother genuinely was nervous of the limelight. 

"O- _Oh!_ Oh, _that!_ " he breathed. "Dude, did you even have to say that? I knew you didn't mean it." 

"I-I know," he answered too quickly. "I know that, I just.. I shouldn't have done it in the first place. I-I feel.. bad. about it." 

"You dropped me after not even five seconds!" 

" _Just shut up and accept my apology, Leo!_ " 

"Okay! Okay, sheesh! I accept your apology, Donnie. I love you, too, man." 

Donnie looked down at his feet. "Yeah. Ditto." 

Now with that semi-awkward exchange over, Leo slowly turned back around the way he came. The amount of chagrin that washed over him in that moment was staggering. If it was truly what self-loathing felt like, he wouldn't stand for it. 

There had to be something more he could do if he couldn't tell the truth. Think, Donnie, think! 

"UH-" He stopped before whatever he was about to say happened. Clearing his throat, he tried again, opening his arms this time around. 

"Leo?? Bro, don't you think you're- forgetting something..?" 

Glancing over his shoulder, Leo all but rolled his eyes at the behavior that Donnie _knew_ was ridiculous; especially for him. 

"Make up your _mind_ , Donnie! Do you want me to leave, or do you want me to stay?" 

"Oh, I want you to leave," he reassured. "I just want a quick hug before you do." 

"You're like a cat, I swear. Touchy one minute, then wanting to claw my face off, the next." 

"Are you gonna give me a hug, or are you gonna keep complaining all night?" 

Luckily, that was all he needed to say to get his sibling to come trudging back on over. He really didn't want to have to keep standing there coming up for reasons as to why he deserves to be hugged. Outright asking for one had been uncomfortable enough as is. 

The moment Leo's arms wrapped around him, however, was the moment he turned them both back towards his bed and shoved his brother back onto it for the second time. 

Leo landed with a harsh 'pomf', his eyes wide as his half-awake mind visibly tried to put two and two together. 

He strolled over and placed his hands on his hips, proudly gazing down on the walking disaster he called family. 

"I sense," Leo said with a raised brow, "that that was plotted." 

"You would be sensing correctly." 

"Don. Donnie. Don Tron. No offense, Donathan, but your mattress _sucks._ How do you even SLEEP on-" 

Donnie took that as his cue to reach over and flip on a small switch on the underside of the 'roof' that went over his bed. In seconds, the top was illuminating; a gentle blue glow filling the softly lit room. 

"-this..." 

"Pretty easily, I think you'll find. Pretty darn easily."

He watched as Leo relaxed pretty much instantaneously. Leaning down much the same as his brother had done before, he didn't bother to hide the self-assured smile that crept along his face. 

"How's it feel to be on the receiving end, 'ya big ol' dork?" 

"Surprisingly? _Very_ comfortable..." 

"Yeah, that's what papa likes to hear." 

"Could you- not describe yourself as 'papa' while we're in this setting-" 

"No. I had to listen to you be an insufferable sack of garbage for the past half hour. Daddy'll say whatever he wants."

" _Donnie. No. NO. WE TALKED ABOUT THIS._ " 

Donnie raised a hand and playfully dragged it across Leo's face. "Go to sleep and you won't have to worry about what comes out of my mouth." 

He learned that that move had been a mistake almost as soon as he did it; pulling his hand back and wiping it on his leg. 

"Why do you feel the need to lick everything? Why are you like this?" 

Leo gave a soft little chuckle, eyes not even open at this point. "We're both cursed." 

All Donnie could really do in response to that was nod. They were, in fact, both highly cursed individuals. 

"If I may be so bold, I do believe that one of us is far more cursed than the other." 

"Heh. Yeah. I guess the evil twin _would_ naturally be more cursed, huh?" 

Donnie stood up as soon as Leo got done saying that. "Shut _up_ with that, would 'ya? You can't keep introducing me to every mutant we fight as 'the evil one'! It is not factual, and it gets really annoying when we have to pause a battle with Meat Sweats or someone else, who already knows _exactly_ who we are and what we're about." 

Leo lazily raised a hand and pointed a finger in his general direction. "That's the point. They hate it. The point is to make them hate us more than they already do. Mission complete." 

"Yep, okay. You have reached delirium. I'm outtie five thousand." 

"Wait," Leo demanded, a hand latching onto his arm as he turned to leave, stopping him mid-step. "If I'm taking your bed, where are _you_ gonna sleep?" 

"Oh, I'll find- something." It'd probably be best if he lied in this situation. He did NOT need a barely conscious sibling getting on him about the hypocrisy of the ever controversial topic. "There are two perfectly good beanbags in the family room." 

"Hhhh," Leo moaned. 

"Who knows? I might just steal your hammock." 

"Hhh.. nnnooo... you'll touch my stuff if you go in there... you filthy thief.." 

"Um? Hey, excuse me? Exactly WHEN was the last time _I_ was the one stealing from _you_ and not the other way around?" 

Leo didn't give him a response. His hand fell away before long, dangling just enough for his knuckles to touch the floor.

Donnie let out a huff, bending down to properly place Leo's arm over his waist. Better. 

"G'night, Neon Leon." 

"Mmm..."

"You're still awake?" 

"Take it off.."

"I beg your pardon?" 

"Your baaaack..."

"Oh." Right. He was still wearing the battle-shell, wasn't he? 

Tilting his head back in barely restrained exasperation, Donnie did as he was told, pressing the button on the strap to unlatch the gear. The heavy protector fell against the floor with a very evident clang, so Leo wouldn't have to open his eyes again to get confirmation. 

He let out a long sigh, hardly containing his reluctant internal joy at having that blasted thing off. He always forgets that it's even still on his person until the last minute, and he ends up suffering for it immensely. 

Back problems at the young age of fourteen. Leo was right. He is going to die young. 

"There. Satisfied?" 

Leo's soft snores were already filling the small space. Donnie hung his head a bit, choosing to just shrug off the last portions of their conversation and move on. At least Leo was finally getting what he needed. 

At least, that's what it seemed. He reached forward and gave his brother a firm pat on the chest. No reaction. 

"Sleep tight, buddy. I'll see 'ya in the morning." 

And then there was one. 

The tension returned to his body like a swarm of moths drawn to a lamppost. Distractions could only do so much in the end, really. He knew he'd have to get back to business sooner or later. 

He'd just really been hoping it would have been later rather than sooner. 

Pulling up a screen on his tech-gauntlet, he hurriedly skimmed over what notes he'd managed to scrounge up in the self observation department before Leo barged in and messed up his research. 

Back to monitoring. Back to stressing. Back to facing possibly the biggest mistake he's ever made. 

Eyeing his fallen battle-shell, Donnie allowed his gaze to flicker from Leo, to it, then back to Leo. He certainly _thought_ his brother had conked out, but, then again, you could never be too sure when it came to Leo. 

He just needed to make sure... Better safe than sorry. 

"Psst," he whispered. "Hey. Hey, Leo. Buddy." 

All was quiet. He slowly, carefully, bent down to grab onto his piece of gear. 

"Leo. Hey, you know those taquitos you have in the freezer that you're saving for a special occasion?" His fingers closed around the latch. Leo didn't stir.

"Yeah, I'm gonna eat them. All of them. All thirty. Every last one." 

Nothing. 

Good. He wasn't faking it. 

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Donnie went about reattaching his equipment (with great dread), and picking the mug of forgotten tea back up. He sure as heck wasn't about to let perfectly good tea go to waste. 

Tip-toeing for no real good reason, he couldn't stop himself from peering into the mirror as he passed it on his way out. Two unnatural menaces of society peered right back at him. 

He was going to fix this. It would all be okay, and he was going to fix what he'd started before it even had a chance to start. 

They'd see. They'd all see. He could clean up one of his mistakes without it turning into some kind of fight for all of their lives. 

And _yes._ He was fully capable of owning up and calling these little fiascos _mistakes._ He'd like to think he's learned his lesson, by now. 

Donnie turned off the main overhead lights on his way out, casting one last glance over his shoulder to make sure all was well with Leo. 

Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, he nodded and made his way back towards the lab. 

He'd fix this, and then things could go back to being ordinary for all of them. 

He'd fix it all by himself. Whatever it takes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand Chapter 2 is POSTED, baby!
> 
> I took some artistic liberties with Donnie's room. You just know the guy has a mirror somewhere in there to draw on his eyebrows, and I liked the idea of Donnie's bed being able to be like a lamp for him to sunbathe sometimes. It made for an all around cute scene, so I hope you guys don't mind that. 
> 
> I'm not sure when Chapter 3 will be out, since it's on the longer side again, but thanks for sticking around this far!

**Author's Note:**

> aaaaAAA THIS WAS MUCH LONGER THAN I WANTED IT TO BE AND I AM IN ROTTMNT HELL 
> 
> Thanks for giving the first chapter a read! This is my very first TMNT fic ever, and I just kinda made a barely realized plot based around popular headcanons for the Rise boys and past episodes of the series as a whole. I dunno how long this is gonna be, but likely not more than five chapters, but we'll see. 
> 
> I should have been working on literally anything else but this, but I adore spiting God and giving fics to newer fandoms. 
> 
> My Tumblr: https://painful-prose.tumblr.com/
> 
> My Discord: #8833


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